Where are the Gardners?
Caroline and Jesus live in Sunnyvale - five miles away from us.
Joanna and Brett live in San Diego - 500 miles south of San Francisco.
Ruth and Josh live in Costa Mesa/OC (Orange County) - 425 miles south of San Francisco.
Greg/Martha update
Greg is now retired. It was supposed to start January 1st. His WeVideo sales territory was divided up...all was set for the transition...then one of the sales people quit. The question: "Do you think you could come back until we fill the position?" It took a little over a month to do so. It gave Greg one more trip to TCEA, the Texas education conference, to say goodbye to many customers/friends and to help train the new sales rep for a few days. Greg isn't fully retired. He is working 2-3 days a month as an associate (wine pourer/host) at Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards. It gives him an opportunity to keep his sales skills sharp. The paycheck, wine discount etc are good to have.
And Greg is still waiting for that hole-in-one. He plays golf once a week - plus a few practice sessions at a nearby course or in the backyard. Someday. Maybe. 😎
We jetted down to OC in early January for a quick visit and to attend Ruth's baby shower. Much fun....except Vivi took a hard fall. Poor babe! She recovered quickly. Yay! We came home to a sick dog unfortunately. Rosie left us on the 12th. She is missed.
We left San Jose 2/14 for a trip to the East Coast. While we were boarding the Southwest flight, we learned that Isla Louise Muldoon entered the world! Grandkiddo #5. Congrats to Ruth and Josh! Our travels took us to Georgia for a visit/mini-Eastern Illinois University reunion in Georgia hosted by Mark/Terri Decker. So much fun! Then Martha and Greg drove to Panama City, FL to visit one of Martha's grade school friends. Many happy memories were shared. Then we took a longer drive to Venice, FL for the annual Cornjerkers Reunion hosted by Ray and Suellen Smith. Sue is my sister. Good weather, good times with many of Greg's high school friends.
In March, Greg and Martha went to see the Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ with Greg's golf buddy Joe and friends. Greg and Joe got a couple of rounds of golf in between games. The guys saw the Cubs win one and lose one. Spring Training was a precursor to the 2023 season - .500 baseball at best. Next year. 😞 On the way to and from AZ, we were able to stop by Costa Mesa/OC to see Ruth and Josh and to personally meet baby Isla. She is SO cute!
A quiet April was followed by a family celebration for Martha's 65th birthday in May. All the girls came home for a fun weekend including mom-daughter time followed by a family birthday dinner celebration at Il Fornaio. The next Friday we celebrated again with friends at Shadowbrook in Capitola. You only turn 65 once, right? Party on!
In June, Greg and Martha made a North Carolina-focused Silcox family visit. The journey started with a visit to Jim and Bonnie Silcox and their crew of five kiddos in Linden. They live in a beautiful farm house with acres of land and an adjacent pond plus an army of ducks, rabbits etc. A kid's paradise! It was pretty cool to hang out with them. Then we made a brief drive to Clinton to hang out with Michael and Davina Silcox and blended family. Their home is wooded and beautiful. A fun visit! Then we drove to Asheville for some personal time. The main attraction was a visit to the Biltmore estate, the larger private residence in the USA - a must see if you get to central NC. And Greg made a special visit to the #2 donut shop in the USA. We have the #8 shop close by - our local shop is better IMO. :) The visit concluded with a visit with Martha's mother Sue and brother John. Sue is well taken care of in a beautiful retirement center while John has his own peaceful slice of heaven in rural Morganton which is near Charlotte. What a wonderful trip! Then we came home and enjoyed seeing someone else paint our house. That's a peaceful feeling. :)
In July, Martha and Greg flew to Albany, NY to spend a week with friends on a beautiful organic farm in eastern New York state. Martha and Sandy (Arnold) grew up together while in the Buffalo area. We got plenty of rest and relaxation - and amazing meals - and we put in a little work on Pleasant Valley Farm as needed. Greg was never cut out to be a farm boy - it was obvious. Looking for a new challenge? PVF is looking for an assistant manager. And a visit to Vermont is always the big event. (inside joke - hi Paul and Sandy).
August is a big birthday month. Mine was low key; I know many of you older folks have given up on birthdays completely. :) We did celebrate Jesus' and Dustin's birthday on the 26th. It was great to have Ruth, Josh, and baby Isla join us.
Greg and Martha celebrated their 40th anniversary in September by traveling to the Port Ludlow Inn on the edge of scenic Puget Sound in Washington. It used to be a lumber mill town. Now it's a quiet, little retirement community with two restaurants, a marina, and a golf course. Did Greg get some golf in? You bet ya! :) Both enjoyed the peace and beautiful weather plus some local sightseeing. We also attended a tasty winemaker's dinner at the resort plus a visit from one of the groomsmen from our wedding that lived in the area - thanks Don and Mia for joining us! Don, play more golf! :) Later in the month, we took a quick trip to San Diego to visit Joanna, Brett, and our granddaughters. Flexibility is one huge benefit of retirement.
In October, Martha traveled to the East Coast to enjoy a yearly gathering she has with some high school girl buddies; the gang goes by "the '76 Chicks." They've been gathering for over 20 years for a long girls weekend. Since she was out East, she also flew down to NC to visit with her mother and brother. Later in the month, good friends Maury and Corene Vaillancourt stopped for a quick visit on their way from Australia back to their home in Florida. Much fun! We will return the visit with them in February, 2024.
To close out the year, we flew down to OC to join Ruth and Josh (and Josh's aunt/uncle Sheila/Roger) to view the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade after a wonderful dinner at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. Very elegant! Not too many yacht clubs in Illinois that Greg can remember. :) We enjoyed the parade a second time when Joanna and the girls came to Newport Beach for a quick visit. Then it was time to drive back to San Jose to prepare for Christmas dinner at our home.
What a wonderful year!
Daughter update
Caroline and Jesus have two kiddos. Dustin turned five in August and has started kindergarten in a bilingual school. Tayla turns two in April, 2024 and loves learning from her big brother. Caroline works for a public accounting firm. Jesus runs his own web marketing business. Need help with WordPress? 😊
Joanna and Brett have two kiddos. Brooke turned eight in August - so hard to believe...she went from 5 to 8...boom! - and is in 2nd grade at a bilingual school. She is an organizer. She always has ideas what we can do. Vivi will turn five in January, 2024 and attends the same school. She follows Brooke most of the time as little sisters tend to do. Joanna just started a new job as a Clinical Liaison for Premier Infusion - her role is to help Premier grow market share in the San Diego area. Brett is a D.O. for Kaiser healthcare.
Ruth and Josh are enjoying little Isla who turns one in February, 2024. Isla is a cutie who is just getting ready to walk. Exciting times! Ruth is working as a dental hygienist. Josh is in micro-business funding.
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We hope you and your family were blessed during 2023. Use this passage to build your faith in the New Year.
Since God, in his mercy, has given us this work to do - this ministry - we should not get discouraged nor lose our motivation.
Never give up! Though our outward, physical bodies are getting older and weaker, our inward spirits are being renewed every day.
For our light, momentary troubles are producing for us a (heavy) fullness of glory, beyond all measure, and an endless blessedness.
So we don’t focus at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.
For the things we see now is temporary, but the things we cannot see are eternal and imperishable.
2 Corinthians 4:1,16-18
Much love, Greg and Martha
Reach us at gardner5@mac.com or home phone/Google line 408-257-5152
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